Other Education Commons^™

Barbara S. Belmont, Barbara S. Belmont, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Barbara S. Belmont has spent most of her career in association management. She was with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) before becoming the executive director of the American School Food Service Association/ School Nutrition Association for eighteen years.

Peggy H. Lee, Peggy H. Lee, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

A Virginia native and graduate of Virginia Tech, Peggy H. Lee began her career in restaurant management, but soon switched to school food service. She first worked as a supervisor of twenty-two schools in the Norfolk school system and then became the nutritionist for Virginia Beach Schools. From Virginia Beach she moved to Norfolk as a supervisor and then took the director’s position in Chesapeake. After thirty years of service she retired and now works for the National Dairy Council.

Dennis H. Barrett, Dennis H. Barrett, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

A native of Idaho, Dennis H. Barrett has spent his professional career in food service working in Alaska, Texas, Nevada, and California. After working thirty years as a food service director, he retired from the Dallas, Texas school district.

Renee A. Hanks, Renee A. Hanks, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Renee A. Hanks is a school food service director in New York. A New Jersey native, Hanks grew up in upstate New York. After college in the SUNY system, where she earned a degree in food service management and nutrition, Hanks worked in healthcare, before taking her first job as director of a small school district. She has progressively worked her way through steadily larger districts and is now the director of the South Colonie School District.

Beverly Girard, Beverly Girard, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Beverly Girard is a licensed and registered dietitian with almost 35 years of experience in school and clinical nutrition. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition in Business from Purdue University, a master’s in Dietetics and Nutrition from Florida International University, an MBA from Nova University, a graduate certificate in Social Marketing from the University of South Florida, and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Florida.

Dr. Girard is the Director of Food and Nutrition Services in Sarasota County, Florida, a district of 42,000 students with a budget exceeding $18 million annually. She directs nearly …

Lyman Graham, Lyman Graham, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Lyman Graham hails from Roswell, New Mexico. After pursuing a career in ranching, as well as the restaurant business, he decided to try his hand a school nutrition. He started out as director in a small farming community and eventually worked his way up to more responsibilities. A firm believer in networking, he has been active in the School Nutrition Association. He is now director of three districts in Roswell, New Mexico, Carlsbad, New Mexico, and Dexter, New Mexico.

Sophie C. Hoover, Sophie C. Hoover, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Sophie C. Hoover, a Brooklyn native, spent most of her formative years in Puerto Rico. After starting her college education in Puerto Rico she finished her degree in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Florida. After working as nutrition director for a nursing home, Sophie has been the Specialist in Food and Nutrition with Anne Arundel County, Maryland schools for twenty-seven years.

Barry Sackin, Barry Sackin, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Barry Sackin has more than 30 years’ experience in child nutrition programs, including 18 years in program operations, such as school breakfast, school lunch, summer feeding, Head Start, senior feeding, and the commodity program. He is now president of B. Sackin & Associates, a child nutrition consulting business. Barry was staff vice president for SNA, a founding board member of Action for Healthy Kids, former president of the Southern California School Nutrition Association, and member of the SNA executive board. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Commodity Distribution Association and the CSNA Public Policy and …

Craig Weidel, Craig Weidel, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

An Ohio native, Craig Weidel spent his first ten years there, before his family relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. He started out in child nutrition as warehouse supervisor for Mesa Public Schools, before becoming an area supervisor. He currently works with inventory management is cost control, and is very active in the School Nutrition Association.

Dianna Krebs, Dianna Krebs, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Dianna Krebs has had an interesting path to school nutrition. After majoring in finance in college she worked as a bookkeeper, first at a bank, and then as the bookkeeper for her local school district, eventually becoming the bookkeeper for the child nutrition programs, where she rose through the ranks, becoming a coordinator, an assistant to the director, and finally the school nutrition director, where she currently supervises eighteen schools.

Lark Christian, Lark Christian, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Lark Christian has worked as a child care supervisor and statewide coordinator for child nutrition programs for the State of Mississippi. She is now the food service director for Jackson County, Mississippi.

Saundra Isabelle, Saundra Isabelle, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Saundra Isabelle started working part-time in child nutrition when her children started school, but immediately fell in love with it. She quickly rose through the ranks and became a manager at Pass Christian Elementary, Middle, and High Schools for five years. She is now the food service director for the Pass Christian School District.

Judy Mumphrey, Judy Mumphrey, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

After earning bachelors and master’s degrees at the University of Southern Mississippi, Judy Mumphrey taught home economics for eleven and a half years, before moving into school food service. She started out as the School Foodservice Administrator at Pass Christian before moving to Bay-Waveland Schools, where she finished her career. Her biggest challenge over that career was dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Wanda Salley, Wanda Salley, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

An Alabama native, Wanda Salley holds degrees from Auburn University and Mississippi State University, and is also a Registered Dietitian. After beginning her career in hospitals she transitioned into school food service, first becoming a food service director in Houston, MS, followed by stints in Greenville, Pass Christian, and Harrison County, MS schools.

Trudie Brinson, Trudie Brinson, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Trudie Brinson earlier worked with the Head Start program in Virginia and then began working in North Carolina as a child nutrition manager with the migrant program.

Danny Seymour, Danny Seymour, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Danny Seymour has been involved with school nutrition programs since 1971, beginning with a small suburban Philadelphia school district. His career path led him to direct four different school nutrition programs and to become director of the second largest school district in Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh Public Schools. Throughout his career in schools, Danny built each program on strong fundamentals of procurement as well as human resource management. While in Pittsburgh he developed the department’s Standards of Operations, outlining almost every policy and procedure for implementing a successful school nutrition operation. From 2007 to 2015 Danny held a position with the …

Gail S. Kavanaugh, Gail S. Kavanaugh, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Gail S. Kavanaugh has served as a child nutrition director in Mississippi for over twenty-five years. She has also been very active in the state and national school nutrition associations, including testifying before Congress in the early 2000s.

Jeannie Sneed, Jeannie Sneed, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Jeannie Sneed is a former director of the Applied Research Division of the National School Food Service Management Institute. Sneed now holds a position in the USDA Food Safety unit.

Sylvia Dunn, Sylvia Dunn, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Sylvia Dunn taught in Georgia and Texas before returning to her native Louisiana, where she also taught before going to work in nutrition programs at the State Department of Education. After four and a half years with the Department of Education she became the food service director for St. Tammany Parish, where she has worked for the last twenty-five years.

Lynda Snow, Lynda Snow, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Lynda Snow is a native Alabamian and has worked in school nutrition for thirty-five years in Birmingham and Bessemer, Alabama. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Alabama A&M University. She is currently Child Nutrition Director for Bessemer City Schools.

Mary Alexiou, Mary Alexiou, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Mary Alexiou, a native Alabamian, recently retired as the Director of Child Nutrition Programs for Vestavia City Schools. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Jacksonville State University and a master’s degree from University of Alabama, Birmingham. Prior to going into child nutrition she worked first as a consultant for various hospitals and nursing homes and then at the Guntersville Hospital. She has also been a very active member of the School Nutrition Association.

Susan Wood, Susan Wood, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Susan Wood, a Nebraska native, has spent her entire working career in Alabama. She is a Registered Dietitian and spent a number of years working in hospitals and nursing homes, as well as teaching at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. In her current position Susan is the Director of Child Nutrition Programs for Hoover City Schools, where she has served the district’s children for the past twenty-two years.

Charles Kirby, Charles Kirby, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Mr. Kirby worked for the USDA for 25 years, which included serving as Southeast Regional Director for 15 years. Subsequently, he served as the State Director of Child Nutrition in Mississippi. During his tenure in Mississippi, he helped develop and operate a statewide purchasing cooperative for schools. Since retiring from Mississippi, he has provided consulting services in the area of purchasing and financial management to state and local school districts and the NFSMI.

Tommy Ramey, Tommy Ramey, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Tommy Ramey worked for 34 years in the State of Alabama beginning as a teacher/coach and retiring in 2000 as State Director of the Child Nutrition Programs for the Alabama State Department of Education. His major accomplishments include developing and instituting a commodity processing program that saved local education agencies (LEAs) $1.5 annually; being recognized by the USDA for having the most efficient method for delivery of USDA donated food; initiating the development of the State Nutrition Policies and Procedures Handbook; and initiating and assisting in the development and passage by the State Board of Education, certification standards for local …

Gaye Lynn Macdonald, Gaye Lynn Macdonald, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Gaye Lynn MacDonald worked in the school nutrition program of Bellingham Public Schools in Bellingham, Washington for 32½ years, 20 years as the program director, overseeing 23 sites offering breakfast, lunch and after school snacks. In 2002-2003, she served as president of the American School Food Service Association, representing 54,000 members.

Jerry B. Cater, Jerry B. Cater, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Jerry B. Cater retired after 11 years as Research Scientist with the Applied Research Division of the National Food Service Management Institute. She served 19 years as Director of School Food Services in Long Beach, Mississippi. While at NFSMI, she served as project manager on numerous research projects including the development of Financial Management Information System model for school nutrition programs. The model served as the basis the design of FUNDamentals, a financial management reporting software.

Nina Cross, Nina Cross, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Evelina (Nina) Cross received her PhD from Texas Woman’s University and then joined the faculty at Louisiana State University. While at LSU, she taught and directed the dietetic internship. Her research and many of her publications were in the area of school food service. In addition, she served three years as the first National Food Service Management Institute Scholar. During this time she worked with the research arm of the Institute to develop a financial model for school food service. Since retirement from LSU, Dr. Cross has worked with both the Louisiana and Mississippi Departments of Education to offer continuing …

Louise Lepeze, Louise Lepeze, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

After several years of working as a nutritionist in hospitals Louise Lepeze joined the Louisiana Department of Education child nutrition programs as an Area Supervisor in 1980. She later became the Section Chief. Lepeze left the state in 1991 to join USDA at the Southwest Regional Office in Dallas as the Net Coordinator, Nutrition Education and Training Program. She has been back in Baton Rouge since 2005, working for USDA in the area of School Meals Initiative.

Ellen Leppa, Ellen Leppa, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Ellen Leppa, certified with the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and the School Nutrition Association, served as Education and Training Specialist and Coordinator of On-Site Services at the National Food Service Management Institute on the campus of the University of Mississippi until her retirement in 2008. As coordinator Ellen worked with both State Departments of Education and conference planners of School Nutrition Associations throughout the country to provide trainers for preconference classes, general sessions, educational sessions, workshops and seminars on a large variety of topics. Some of the topics include Developing a Food Safety Program, Emergency Readiness, Biosecurity …

Carol W. Shanklin, Carol W. Shanklin, Institute Of Child Nutrition. Child Nutrition Archives.

Oral History Project (all interviews)

Carol W. Shanklin, PhD, RD, is professor in the Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management & Dietetics and Dean of Graduate School at Kansas State University. Carol teaches graduate courses and mentors graduate students’ research in the areas of environmental issues, food safety, customer satisfaction, and dietetics and hospitality education. She has collaborated with several graduate students on research projects in child nutrition. Carol has authored or co-authored several articles in the Journal of Child Nutrition Management and the Journal of the American Dietetics Association. She has been active in the School Nutrition Association, the American Dietetics Association, and other …